For those who follow a high protein diet....

By high protein, I mean anything above 150 grams. How do you feel. Do you get any undesirable symptoms? Do your muscles grow faster? Does your face redden?

I have thought of increasing my protein, at least temporarily, but I have never done so because I am bit hesitant to go over a certain toxic limit. Protein is known to create ammonia, and very high intakes could stress out the liver, but I see many bodybuilders consuming close to 300 grams with no noticeable problems.

Epic fail Dr. Barnard. And this comes from a physician. Big epic fail. Educate yourself. You might start by reading my blog and reading the cites. Conventional medical advice kills many more than high protein diets. And as someone who treats osteoporosis daily I am personally offended at your statement on it because your dead wrong.

Wow: a vegan anti-Atkins doctor on Paleohacks! My initial reaction is: Uh oh, this guy is probably way out of his depth. But I don't want to prejudge. In fact, I'd love to see a contrarian MD give it his best shot, with properly cited evidence. Could get interesting. Good luck, Neal!

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Answers

How do you feel.
Better or no different than I do on lower protein diets.

Do you get any undesirable symptoms?
No.

Do your muscles grow faster?
Absolutely. Much easier to track strength gains in the short term, btw, and for me they track very closely with protein intake.

Does your face redden?
Nope.

I have thought of increasing my protein, at least temporarily, but I have never done so because I am bit hesitant to go over a certain toxic limit. Protein is known to create ammonia, and very high intakes could stress out the liver, but I see many bodybuilders consuming close to 300 grams with no noticeable problems.

Provided you have healthy kidneys, you should be fine. In the real world it is impossible to overeat on protein given access to other foods.

I eat between 150-250 grams of protein a day, the bulk is definitely from meat and fish, the rest dairy/eggs, nuts and nut butter, fruit/berries, veg/avocado, tubers, etc. I'm starting to play with whey protein shakes now as well just to see how it works as an additional source.

I only had side effects when I ate lower than this. I was tired, stopped building muscle, and just overall did not feel "right" if that makes any sense? I played around with fats, proteins, etc. and this ratio of protein has done me up well and I feel good. I burn through my food fuel really quickly so upping the protein, upping the fat a bit more, and it's been aces. I've steadily gained muscle but remained nice and lean.

If it helps, I CrossFit and lift heavy 3-4 days a week, cycle maybe 30-miles a week (down from 100+), and have started Bikram 1-day a week.

Anything over 1g/lb of bodyweight is a waste for the most part according to the majority of studies, ultimately you have to expirement though to see what works for you. I typically eat 150+ but that's because I weigh 170.

If you don't feel like your recovering right or making the gains you want maybe try upping it a tad, as long as you don't go over 250 I think you should be fine as far as excess protien goes but not too sure on that one.

From my experience as a type 1 diabetic, you can only eat so much protein and then the rest your body converts to glucose. If I over consume protein I end up with a higher blood glucose level later. I've tested this my eating strictly protein for breakfast and then looking at blood glucose levels before and after. I chose breakfast because I've generally fasted for an extended period of time prior. I'm not a scientist so maybe someone can help me explain the biochemistry behind this.

High protein is hard to avoid on the Paleo diet. You really have try to find paleo carbs and fat, because protein is such a readily available food for us. When I was eating tons of protein from meat, I was getting hives across my body when I would get nervous or workout. Once I laid off protein, this never happened.

Scientific studies show that low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets raise cholesterol levels in a considerable number of individuals, sometimes to a dramatic degree. These diets also typically accelerate calcium losses and have led major health organizations to raise important questions about their possible contribution to heart problems, kidney abnormalities, osteoporosis, and other health problems.

Wow: a vegan anti-Atkins doctor on Paleohacks! My initial reaction is: Uh oh, this guy is probably way out of his depth. But I don't want to prejudge. In fact, I'd love to see a contrarian MD give it his best shot, with properly cited evidence. Could get interesting. Good luck, Neal!

Epic fail Dr. Barnard. And this comes from a physician. Big epic fail. Educate yourself. You might start by reading my blog and reading the cites. Conventional medical advice kills many more than high protein diets. And as someone who treats osteoporosis daily I am personally offended at your statement on it because your dead wrong.